Ennedi Massif: Natural and Cultural Landscape

• Need to strengthen the legal protection status of the property and to extend the property to include all attributes of the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV)
• Inadequate management plan and lack of management authority
• Need for a zonation which allows full protection of the key areas for biodiversity
• Need to guarantee the full participation of the local communities and of their traditional authorities in the management of the property

USD 74,410 from the Government of Norway between 2023 and 2024 

On 31 January 2024, the State Party submitted a state of conservation report, which is available at https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1475/documents/, and reports the following:

• The Ennedi Natural and Cultural Reserve was created by Decree No. 260/PR/PM/MCDT/2016 (2016). The responsibility for its management lies with the Ministry of Cultural Affairs and Historical Heritage, Tourism and Crafts through the National Inter-ministerial Committee of World Heritage Sites, the Directorate for Cultural Heritage, a Site Director and the Local Management Committee;
• The Administrative Council, the decision-making body, consists of representatives of African Parks, the Ministry of the Environment, and the Ministry of Cultural Affairs, Historical Heritage, Tourism and Crafts;
• Discussions have commenced to revise the Management Plan in 2024 through involvement of communities and the management team;
• Management and protection activities continued through vehicles and equipment acquisition, patrols by 39 eco-guards, awareness-raising sessions through social media and information panels, sanitation days and inspection visits;
• 15 red-necked ostriches were released into the property in 2020 through a translocation programme;
• An environmental anthropology study commenced In May 2021 to acquire a socio-ecological understanding of how pastoral populations who live within a 60 km radius of the Guelta d'Archeï use its waters;
• An archaeological study on the rock paintings of the property commenced in July 2021 to inform a plan for their protection and valorisation;
• Reports and manuals associated with the property were published including on bird species richness, plants, mammals, and on the rock art of the Ennedi Massif as well as their state of conservation. Several mammal species have been confirmed in the property, including Barbary sheep, Dorcas gazelle, striped hyaena, jackal, fennec fox and Patas monkey. In addition to red-necked ostriches, scimitar oryx and addax have been reintroduced;
• In response to the reported vandalism of rock art sites in the property, a State Party mission visited Fada in April 2017. It reported large damage at the entrance with an area of 2.68 m² and similarly in other areas. No further vandalism has been reported since.

Regrettably, the State Party’s report again provides little new information on the state of conservation of the property or on the actions taken to implement the requests of the Committee at the time of inscription (Decision 40 COM 8B.15), and subsequently (Decisions 42 COM 7B.64, 44 COM 7B.71 and 45 COM 7B.28). It is important to recall that the 2016 Advisory Bodies' evaluation of the nomination considered it premature for inscription because the property did not meet the protection and management requirements of the Operational Guidelines and the proposed boundaries were considered inadequate to protect all attributes of the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV). The 2016 legislation was considered not to meet the requirements of the Operational Guidelines at the time of inscription. No further details have been provided on the 2019 Decree (n°018/PR/2018 of 10 January 2019), and the State Party has not responded to the request by the Committee to undertake a comprehensive review of legislative arrangements. Developing an Action Plan to address past Committee requests and recommendations would provide a clear framework through which to address these issues.

The property, as currently inscribed, does not include the northern part of the massif, leaving out important rock art sites, including the emblematic site of Niola Doa. At the time of inscription, the Committee recommended an extension of the property, to protect important rock art sites in the north and north-western part of the Ennedi Massif. The State Party provides no information on progress on the requested extension of the property, or on the establishment of zonation.

Much of what is presented by the State Party was reported on previously, including the structure of the management system, employing of eco-guards, the release of red-necked ostriches, and the environmental anthropology study of pastoral life around the Guelta d'Archei.

The property is currently managed through a partnership agreement between the State Party and African Parks, funded by the European Union and other partners. It is unclear what the timeframes for this partnership are.

Preliminary discussions for the revision of the Management Plan, as requested by the Committee at the time of inscription, are welcome, and this process should be expedited. The completion of several studies is also welcome as these could provide further documentation of the attributes under Criterion (ix) as requested, but the details provided are limited, and the State Party has not submitted the studies to the World Heritage Centre.

The State Party has provided some additional information on the damage that occurred due to vandalism events in 2017, but has not provided a detailed report of the extent of the damage and measures taken to rehabilitate the affected sites, as requested by the Committee.

While some information is provided on occurring wildlife species, no details are made available on population numbers. Other important issues like the genetic viability of the remnant crocodile population are also not discussed. The efforts to reintroduce flagship wildlife species namely oryx gazelle, red-necked ostriches and addax which had disappeared from the property as a result of poaching are appreciated and the State Party should be requested to provide more information on these efforts, including on the strategy to re-establish viable populations in the property.

Noting the repeated requests for more detailed information on the management system and effectiveness, zonation, and the 2017 vandalism incident, it is recommended that the Committee request the State Party to invite a joint World Heritage Centre/ICOMOS/IUCN Reactive Monitoring mission to visit the property. The mission should provide an assessment of the functioning of the management system, report on the damage due to vandalism of the rock art at Fada, review the progress made and advise on the updating of the management plan, review the strategy for botanical inventory and a zonation of use, and report on progress made on the implementation of the Committee’s requests and recommendations made since inscription of the property in 2016.